Liang Zhao School and Home Phone: 268-1858 (o) 621-6782 (h) Email address: lzhao@ri.cmu.edu Education background: Carnegie Mellon Univ. Robotics Ph.D. candidate Chinese Academy of Sciences Pattern Recognition & Intelligent Control M.E. Tsinghua Univ., China Computer Science B.E. Professional experience: Carnegie Mellon University, the Robotics Institute * Graduate Researcher (Fall 1998 - present) Working on stereo vision based side collision warning system. This system would be capable of monitoring the entire side of the bus with a single sensor in order to detect pedestrians and quickly approaching vehicles. * Graduate Researcher (Summer 1998) Worked on mobile robot teleoperation from an omni-camera. * Graduate Researcher (1996 - 1998) Worked on Vision-Based Vehicle Detection and Tracking, part of the Automated Highway System (AHS) project -- the highway of the future where the cars will drive themselves. The mobile robots used are a family of navlabs equipped with various sensors -- cameras, laser scanners, sonar, etc. Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition * Graduate Researcher (1993 - 1996) Worked on Active Vision-Based Robot Navigation, a National 863 High Technology Project. The mobile robot is equipped with stereo vision and a 6-DOF active vision platform. Strength and weakness: Have some experience in vision-based robot navigation, mobile robot teleoperation, familiar with sensors such as cameras, stereo cameras, and laser scanner. Have little experience in mechanical, electronic, and control systems. Interests related to the project: Range map generation and situational awareness from stereo cameras, robot teleoperation from a panoramic view. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ilia Antipov Ilya@cs.cmu.edu 422-7831 (home) 692-4454 (work) Education: Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN. Physics Major 1992-1993 Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Logic & Computation/Computer Science, expected graduation Dec. 1998 St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation, Russia, Master's program in Computer Engineering, expected graduation Feb. 1999 Research Interests: Biological and Computer Vision Systems, Pattern Analysis, Navigation Experience: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Clinical Multimedia Laboratory Research Engineer: Designing and developing image manipulation tools and network agents. Research in Intelligent Medical Image Databases. Responsible for developing WebReport: A WWW Based Clinical Multimedia Reporting System. Projects are done in C++, JAVA Publications: H. J. Lowe MD, I. Antipov, W. Walker, S. Polonkey. "WebReport: A World Wide Web Based Clinical Multimedia Reporting System.", 1996 SCAMC. Lowe HJ, Antipov I, Hersh W, Arnott Smith C "Towards Knowledge-Based Retrieval of Medical Images. A Multidimensional Model using Semantic Indexing, Image Content Representation and Knowledge-Based Retrieval.", Proceedings of the 1998 AMIA Annual Fall Symposium Lowe HJ, Antipov I, Hersh W, Arnott Smith C "Representing Images in the Multimedia Electronic Medical Record Combining Semantic Indexing and Image Content-Based Representation to Support Knowledge-Based Retrieval of Medical Images" Submitted for publication, Methods of Information in Medicine, Rotterdam, Netherlands Interests in Project: Strengths: Mathematics, Physics, Computer Vision Course Schedule: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sachin Chheda Senior in Electrical and Computer Engineering Home Phone: 682-0340 Email: Chheda@cmu.edu Background: I am pursing my bachelor degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. My areas of concentration are Communication, Hardware and Circuit Design. Experience: Student Intern, Field Robotics Center. September 1995 to date. I have had the chance to work on a couple of projects where the responsibilities ranged from software development to project management. Currently I am currently working on incorporating the Millimeter Wave Radar and Ground Penetrating Radar on Nomad. Intern, Caterpillar Inc. June to August 1998. I worked on laying out the strategy and implementing the next generation display and monitoring systems for future Caterpillar products. Interest related to the project: Electrical and Computing System Design Communication System Design Buried Object Recognition using Ground Penetrating Radar Public Relations for the project On a personal note: The results of this project will play a vital role in formulating the public perception of robots. It is important to study the effects of robotics on today's society and the public opinion on the topic. This would provide valuable insight in the future of robotics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethan Frantz 5560 Wilkins Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (412) 422-2146 ef2p@andrew.cmu.edu 16345 Englewood Avenue Los Gatos, CA 95032 (408) 356-8506 frantz@netcom.com WORK EXPERIENCE Robotic Engineering Consortium, CMU Research Lab Assistant January 98 - present JR Clancy Control Department Field Technician Summer 97 Media Production Services Set, Lighting and Sound Production Intermittent 95, 96, 97 Los Gatos High School Maintenance (electrical & custodial) Summers of 93, 95, 96 EDUCATION Carnegie Mellon University MS Electrical and Computer Engineering, May 99 BS Electrical and Computer Engineering , May 98 Drama Production 94-96 CURRENT COURSE WORK Linear Systems Mobile Robot Programming Optical Image and Radar Processing Mobile Robot Design ENGINEERING COURSE WORK Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering Fundamentals of Computer Science Introduction to Computer Architecture Fundamentals of Control Probability And Random Processes Signals and Systems Analysis and Design of Analog Circuits Discrete Mathematics Computer Controlled Systems Design Laboratory Linear Algebra Structures of the Computer Industry Mekatronics AP Credit: Calculus, Physics, Chemistry OTHER COURSE WORK Physics, Calculus, Modern Math, English, World History, Drafting, Welding, Fundamentals of Drama, Technical Production, Physics and Applications of Stage Machinery, Acting, Movement, Directing, Design, Drawing, Stage Design, Production Preparation, Lighting, History of Drama RELATED SKILLS Operating Systems: Mac, Unix and DOS Software: Spice, Verilog, Matlab, AutoCad, MiniCad, Java and C++ Other: Welding (stick & MIG) and Carpentry HOBBIES Caving, Rock Climbing, Back Packing, and Theater ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Joshua Lindner Home Phone: (412) 521-2183 School Phone: N/A Email Address: jlbf@andrew.cmu.edu Education Background: BS ECE from Carnegie Mellon 1998 Expect MS ECE from Carnegie Mellon 1999 Professional Experience: VLSI Technology Inc. Summer 1998 Technology Center Design Intern. In this position, I helped to bring a large mixed signal ASIC to market. My responsibilities included digital circuit design, verification, and timing analysis. Robotics Engineering Consortium Spring 1998 AMTS Fork Truck On this project, I basically just helped out where ever I could. I wrote some code for controlling the forks, and helped wire the truck. Pensar Co. Summer 1997, Summer 1996 Temporary Engineering Technician In this position, I helped engineers to prototype some products, as well as working on product verification, and EMC certification. Strength and Weaknesses: My greatest strengths are in the realm of digital circuit design. My exposure to analog circuits has enhanced my understanding of digital circuits, although I don't consider myself a competent analog designer. I know VERILOG pretty well, and I'm reasonably proficient at writing C. I would have to say that my greatest weakness is the fact that most of my projects have dealt with isolated circuits, rather than systems. In fact, this past summer at VLSI has been my only exposure to real design. Interests Related to the Project: I'm interested in helping to flush out the circuit requirements for the robot, in whatever level of detail ends up being necessary. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Montemerlo Office phone: (412) 268-1179 Home phone: (412) 521-2112 email address: mmde@cs.cmu.edu Education B.S. M.S. Electrical / Computer Engineering Carnegie Mellon University 1997 Strengths computer vision, control Weaknesses mechanical stuff Project Interests computer vision, control ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bart Nabbe Born: Nijmegen, September 19th 1974 Citizenship: Dutch Address: Carnegie Mellon University Phone: (412) 268 7075 The Robotics Institute Email: bana@ri.cmu.edu Smith Hall 201 5000 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891 Education Venlo, June 1996: BSc in Computer Engineering, College of Engineering Venlo. Amsterdam, August 1998: MSc in Autonomous Systems, University of Amsterdam (Expecting September 1998). Experience Delft, September 1994 - January 1995: Designed a High Performance Multi Channel Motion Controller for the CAN bus at the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research, Delft (TNO-TPD). T"aby, February 1996 - June 1996: Designed a communication stack for the VME bus; supporting the message passing OSE Delta real-time kernel from the Swedish company Enea OSE Systems. T"aby, August 1996: Wrote an OSE Delta Board Support Package for a 603e PowerPC VME board (including Ethernet support). Hinckley, October 1997: Presented the paper "Distributed Fault Tolerant I/O in the Message Passing paradigm" at FieldComms UK '97. Pittsburgh, March 1998 - August 1998: Research internship at The CMU Robotics Institute; designed a controller for a reconfigurable robot. Pet Projects: The "BRM1" is a simple teach in six axis robot manipulator capable of handling 250 grams. I developed this robot in order to gain some experience in the field of robot manipulators. My latest project is the mobile robot named "RoomRanger" which is an exercise in mobile robot design. I developed for this robot a micro-controller board based on the Motorola 68332, which was later replaced by a more advanced board build around the Motorola MC68376 MCU. The main robot control software uses a reinforcement NN controller guided by instinct rules. Strengths Embedded Systems design. Ranging from custom controller board design (including fpga design) to distributed real-time fault-tolerant operating system design. Prefered hardware platforms Motorola 68K3 series and IBM/Motorola PowerPC microcontroller family (4xx/8xx). Special interest in the CAN field-bus. Weaknesses Strong aversion of Microsoft products. Interests related to the project There is plenty of embedded system design involved in a robotic system, so I consider my expertise to be beneficial to the project. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryan J. Nagy Work: CMU/NREC 10 Fortieth St. Pittsburgh, PA (412) 681-7076 email: nagy+@cmu.edu http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~bn29 Home: 6525 Dalzell Pl. Floor 2 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (412) 421-2538 EDUCATION Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA BS, Computer Science, Minor in Drama, 1998 WORK EXPERIENCE Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, June 1998 - Present Research Programmer, Autonomous Materials Transport System (AMTS) Project o Responsible for robot system design, development and testing, with a focus on motion and planning. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, May 1997 - Nov. 1997 Research Programmer, ACT/FLUID Project o Implement parsing, unparsing, formatting and manipulation of Java code for a prototype CASE tool. o Interface with other Java components as necessary, including versioning and display systems. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, Feb. 1996 - Aug. 1996 Research Assistant Programmer, Project LISTEN o Create an engaging user interface for a prototype computer-based reading coach. o Create an interactive persona and in-text illustrations. o Implement new coaching functionality. Specialty Saw Inc., Simsbury, CT, Summers, 1989 - 1995 Programmer/Consultant o Administrate an SCOunix system and instruct new users. o Purchase, install and maintain serial terminals, printers, and software. o Work with vendors to customize database software. RELEVANT COURSEWORK o Introduction to Mobile Robot Programming o Introduction to User Interface Programming o Sensor-Based Mobile Robot Programming o Fundamentals of Computer Engineering o Robotic Manipulation o Stage Machinery o Computer Vision o Algorithms o AI for Robotics and Engineering o Software Engineering COMPUTER SKILLS o Languages: C++, Java, C, Prolog, SML, Lisp, HTML, SQL, Pascal, HyperTalk o Programming Environments: Visual C++, Emacs, CodeWarrior, BoundsChecker, VSS, MCL, gcc o Systems: Macintosh, PC(Win95, NT), UNIX (SCOunix and Andrew), serial terminals o Special Software: Mathematical Analysis tools, Photoshop, Illustrator, MiniCAD ACTIVITIES AND HONORS o Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity, Kappa Chapter o Carnegie Mellon University Senior Leadership Award Recipient INTERESTS Technical Theatre, Emergency Medicine, Candlemaking, SCUBA Diving, Golf, Skiing, Reading I want to design, build, program and research mobile robots and their attendant artificial intelligences. I want to explore how they move, how they perceive the world, how they make decisions, and how the ways in which all of this is done now can be improved. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon in May 1998 with a BS in Computer Science and a Minor in Drama. (Technical Theatre). In my time here, I've taken the usual CS courses, including Fundamental Structures, Algorithms, Programming Languages, and Software Engineering, along with some robotics courses: Introduction to Mobile Robot Programming, Sensor-Based Mobile Robot Programming, Robotic Manipulation, Computer Vision, and AI for Robotics and Engineering. I've also taken courses such as Fundamentals of Computer Engineering, and Stage Machinery, which often have application in the realm of Robotics. My main interest in the Discovery mission is in the locomotion design and motion planning necessary to move the robot around on the surface of the moon. My primary strengths in that area would be high level planning software which would determine motion objectives and how to move to achieve those objectives, along with any other high-level software. I also have some basic capabilities in the areas of digital EE, machine language, and mechanics. My primary weaknesses with regard to the project would be in the areas of materials science, communications (signals and systems type stuff), thermodynamics, radiation effects and geology. -Bryan Nagy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Trey Smith E-mail: trey@andrew.cmu.edu Local: 3624 Hempstead Rd., Apt. #10 Pittsburgh, PA 15217 +1 412 521 3368 Permanent: 1712 Kathryn Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32308 +1 850 656 5546 Education Carnegie Mellon University Fall 1995-present Pittsburgh B.S. in computer science; math minor. Graduation Dec. 1998. Cumulative GPA: 3.81 out of 4. Dean's List. Employment Robotics Institute Fall 1998 Teaching assistant, 16-362/862 Introduction to mobile robot programming. NASA Ames Research Center Summer 1998 Worked with the on-board execution system for field trials of the Marsokhod rover, a testbed for the 2003 and future Mars missions. Designed its input language and implemented parts of the executive. Independent study Fall 1997-Present With three other students, built a CCD-based astronomical camera on a small research grant. Continuing work includes motorizing the telescope and implementing software to automate asteroid tracking. Robotics Institute Summer-Fall 1997 Aided in the design of a task network planner for agents in a multi-agent system. Designed a language and implemented a parser for inter-agent messages. Computing Skills Experienced with C/C++, Java, Perl, Lisp, ML, multithreaded programming. Activities President, Carnegie Mellon Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. Objective I plan to develop new technology to aid working and manufacturing in space; specifically flexible, robust robot systems. I am interested in tightly embedded planning systems which can make real-time guarantees. I'm not pleased with my amount of hardware experience and want more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ASHLEY W. STROUPE 5701 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 412-661-4144 ashley@ri.cmu.edu EDUCATION 8/98-present: Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Institute. Ph.D. student in robotics. 8/95-5/98: George Mason University. M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering. Concentration in controls and robotics. Additional topics: manipulation, robot navigation, neural networks. 8/93-12/95: University of Maryland, College Park. Extended Studies, Electrical Engineering. Topics: speech recognition for walking robot project, statistics, computer architecture, communications theory, basic circuits. 8/91-6/93: State University of New York at Stony Brook. Physical Anthropology, Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences. Concentration in anatomy, evolution, and biomechanics. 8/86-5/90: Harvey Mudd College. B.S. Physics. Concentrations in astrophysics and anthropology. WORK EXPERIENCE 1/98-7/98: Sylvan Learning Systems. Instructor, Johns Hopkins IAAY Young Scholar Program in Mathematics and Tutor. Subjects: mathematics, reading, SAT prep, study skills, and homework support. 8/96-12/97: George Mason University. Teaching Assistant. Courses: Basic circuit analysis, and signals and systems. Instructor, Signals and Systems Lab. 8/95-4/96: Discovery Channel. Analyst. Nielsen analysis, presentation/document production, computer support. 3/95-8/95: Potomac Personnel. Temporary. Specialist in document production and computer support. 6/93-1/97: Apropos of Bethesda. Part-time sales and computer inventory system design. 8/91-12/91: SUNY Stony Brook. Teaching Assistant. Tutoring, preparing and grading exams, lecturing. 6/89-8/89, 7/90-5/91: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Intern and Research Assistant to Dr. Kathleen Gordon and Carolyn Sadler. Specimen preparation, casting and analysis; preparation of exhibits and exhibit publications; lecturing to school groups and museum patrons. RESEARCH AND ASSISTANTSHIPS 1/97-4/98: George Mason University. Masters thesis. "Robot navigation in unknown unstructured environments." 3/96-7/96: George Mason University/Northrop Grumman. Research Assistant to Dr. K. J. Hintz. Investigation and documentation of the state of the art of sensor fusion with recommendations for aircraft applications. Paper (co-author): "Multi-target, Multi-sensor Fusion Algorithms and Architectures for Tactical Fighter Targeting." 8/91-5/92: SUNY Stony Brook. Papers: "Sexual Dimorphism in Mandibles of Paranthropus boisei," "Intraspecific Intrasexual Canine Variation and Social Structure in Catarrhine Primates," "Female Social Interactions and Dominance in Captive Nasalis larvatus." 2/91-4/91: US Geological Survey. Intern and Research Assistant to Dr. Mick Kunk, Potassium-Argon Dating Lab. Specimen preparation and preliminary analysis. 9/89-5/90: Harvey Mudd College/McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Senior Research: team study of ion density in Van Allen Belts. Mathematical and physical analysis, report generation and presentation. Paper (co-author): "Van Allen Belts: Experimental and Theoretical Models for Trapped Electrons." OTHER SKILLS Presentations and public speaking; Document production (editing and formatting). STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES Strengths include control theory, reactive navigation. Weaknesses include hardware and formal programming. PROJECT INTERESTS Project interests include navigation, robot-environment interaction and mission science. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul D. Tompkins 5836 5th Avenue #1 School: (412) 268-8919 Pittsburgh, CA 90503 Home: (412) 441-1595 Education Carnegie-Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA August 1998 to present Enrolled in Doctoral program within the Robotics Institute. Area of research is undecided, but will likely focus on the design of, and introduction of greater levels of autonomy to, robots used for space exploration and construction. Stanford University Stanford, CA September 1996 to June 1997 Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Design Division. Emphasis in mechatronic design, controls, manipulation and mobile robot programming. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA September 1988 to June 1992 Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Major courses include Unified Engineering (solid mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics), Rocket Propulsion, Aerodynamics, Automatic Control, Structural Mechanics, Satellite Engineering. Work Hughes Space and Communications Company, Hughes Electronics El Segundo, CA Experience Mission Systems Engineering Activity April 1998 to July 1998 Mission operations support emphasizing a broad knowledge of spacecraft systems and system interaction. Coordination of subsystem specialists for maintenance of power, thermal, propellant, and dynamic margins. Participated in Astra 2A and Galaxy 10 mission rehearsals. Mission Analysis and Operations Activity August 1992 to July 1998 Conducted spacecraft mission analysis and design for commercial communications satellite programs. Spacecraft mission development work includes orbit transfer and burn planning, launch vehicle dispersion contingency planning, ground station visibility, launch window determination, and eclipse studies. Operations work included orbit and attitude estimation, maneuver planning and reconstruction, and on-orbit stationkeeping, all from the Hughes Mission Control Center or supporting customer ground control facilities. Mission analyst for the GOES N-Q program. ICO global cellular communications satellite system lead mission analyst. Chief mission analyst and orbital operations team leader for MSAT M2 (April 1995 liftoff), JCSAT 3 (August 1995 liftoff) and Galaxy 8I (December 1997 liftoff), as well as member of seven other commercial and government orbital operations teams (UHF F/O F2 and F3, DBS D2, Solidaridad J2, Astra 1D, Chinasat and Apstar 1A). Skills Programming in C, Fortran, Forth, MATLAB. Experience with Motorola MC68HC11. Personal Enjoy backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, playing drums, karate, jujutsu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vandi Verma Address: Field Robotics Center Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 Office phone: 412-268-1890 Home phone: 412-521-2575 Email address: vandi@ri.cmu.edu Educational Background: M.S. Computer Science American University Washington DC B.E. Electrical Engineering Punjab Engineering College India Professional experience: Research Associate, Field Robotics Center, CMU,May98-Sept98 Research Associate, Center for Integrated Manufacturing Decision Systems, CMU, Dec96-Apr98 Engineer I, Hughes Network Systems, Germantown MD, Apr96-Nov96 Graduate Research Assistant, Artificial Intelligence Center, American University, Aug94-Apr96 Engineering Intern, International Computers Ltd., Windsor UK, May92-Aug92 and May-93 to Aug93 Interests related to the project: Mission Design, Landing, Autonomous and Teleoperated Rover Operation, Vision ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Yahja School and home phone: 268-7413 (s) 621-5338 (h ) Email: ay@ri.cmu.edu Education background: Bandung Institute of Technology, Computer Science, B.Sc. Professional experience: Software developer, 1993-1996 Strengths and weaknesses: Strengths: programming, machine learning, machine vision Weaknesses: mechanical engineering, mechatronics, aero/astro Interests related to the project: Motion planning, vision Semester schedule: Mobile Robot Design Project Robot control architecture, navigation, systems integration, satisfaction of space environment constraints, Interests mission geometry, mission planning/design. Strengths Manipulation, control, mission design, space environment issues Weaknesses Robot autonomy methods, advanced algorithms, advanced electrical design, CAD design. Would enjoy learning as much as possible in these areas.